New Delhi: The Delhi Police has registered a case in connection with the recovery of a foetus from a lavatory of an AirAsia plane after it landed in Delhi from Guwahati on Thursday, a senior police officer said.

Representational image. Reuters

A postmortem was conducted on the foetus on Friday to determine its gestational age, he said. When an alarm was raised by the cabin crew about the discovery on Thursday, a 19-year-old taekwondo player had admitted that she had lost the foetus. The woman was sent for medical examination, but she refused to undergo tests.

The woman claimed she was not aware of her pregnancy and even her brother-in-law said her family was not aware she was pregnant. The case has not been registered against the player, the officer added. But she could not travel to South Korea for the tournament as the police has taken her passport for questioning her.

Police have registered a case under Section 318 of the IPC, which pertains to "concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body" and is punishable with a maximum term of two years and a fine, he added. The woman was supposed to travel to South Korea for a tournament and was accompanied by her coach. Police have taken her passport and she will be questioned further, he said.

The cabin crew was doing a routine check of the lavatories when they found the foetus wrapped in toilet paper

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